Electro – Page 79 – 7th Level Music

Bayonne – Primitives

Roger Sellers, otherwise known as Bayonne, is an electro artist from Texas who makes great soundscapes of sunrise synths, dance club beats, and drifting cottonwood vocals. He’s a one-man show and his beautiful Primitives album is inspiring. It will make you consider, as LCD Soundsystem once put it, selling your guitar to buy a synthesizer and starting your own music career. I know I am…and I don’t even have a guitar.

“Intro” has a simple title for the first track, but it’s far from simple. Big drums combine with pulsing synths and distant vocals. The percussion keeps building until it cuts to a sparkling wall of sound. It flows into “Appeals,” a peppy song with racing electric piano bringing a happy sound to a tune about a lost love.

“Spectrolite” is not only one of the best electro songs of the year, it’s one of the best songs of the year – period. Sellers sings vocals that barely push out of the background from his synth bass and bouncy tones while his pal Matt Toman lays down house music drums. This should be on your summer playlist if it isn’t already there.

“Marim” is thumping bass and clockwork beats with more vocals that almost disappear. I love how Sellers doesn’t let his vocals overpower his soundscapes on most of the tracks. He knows when to back off the vocals and let the sounds take the song in the right direction. He also knows when to put the vocals in front, like when he sings about his yearning for someone far from him on “Waves.”

The beginning of “Steps” reminds me of the beginning of “Baba O’Riley” with its repeating synth motif. “Lates” is a beautiful ballad with simple piano chords, beats, and synths wrapped in lush reverbed vocals. The beats build to a simmer and then a rolling boil. It’s delightful.

“Omar” starts off quirky but soon morphs into a pulsing, toe-tapping, shimmering song about shattering one’s illusions. It’s ideal for the first rays of daylight coming into your car after a long drive all night.

Primitives is quality stuff. Don’t be surprised if you see Sellers headlining music festivals before too long. Sounds this rich can’t stand hidden for long.

Keep your mind open.

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Gary Wilson’s new album now available for pre-order.

Avant-garde music master Gary Wilson‘s new album It’s Friday Night with Gary Wilson is now available for pre-order on his Bandcamp page. The full album is due out in mid-July. The first single, “Linda,” is available for your listening pleasure there. It’s great, but would you expect anything else from Mr. Wilson?

The new record is available for pre-order on vinyl ($20.00) or a digital download ($9.00 for thirteen tracks!). I know where part of my paycheck is going this Friday night.

Keep your mind open.

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Klaus Johann Grobe – Spagat Der Liebe

German electro-duo Klaus Johann Grobe’s (Daniel Bachmann and Sevi Landolt) newest record, Spagat Der Liebe (The Balancing Act of Love), is forty minutes of groovy neo-lounge music perfect for late night drinks, clubbing, lovemaking, driving, or all four. Just don’t mix the driving with the drinking or the lovemaking. Safety first.

“Ein Guter Tag” (“A Good Day”) kicks off the record with groovy bass and space synths. It’s a perfect way to start your day, really. “Wo Sind” (“Where Are”) has catchy bold synths and crisp drumming throughout it. “Rosen Des Abschieds” (“Roses of Farewells”) will get you dancing with its groovy bass and snappy percussion. The vocals, despite being about a break-up, are wonderfully light and help the song bounce.

“Pure Fantasie” (You can guess the translation.) is pretty much a lounge version of a slow jam. It’s meant to inspire you to get your freak on, so put it on your latest make-out playlist. “Heut Abend Nur” (“Tonight Only”) sounds like something you’d hear in a 1960’s European art film.

“Geschichten Aus Erster Hand” (“Stories Firsthand”) has some of the few English lyrics (“Come on, baby.”), but the chorus of “tanzen, tanzen, tanzen” (“dance, dance, dance”) is what will stick in your head. “Ohne Mich” (“Without Me”) has synths straight from a 1980’s OMD record, or so it seems.

If this record hasn’t hooked you by now, the flute solo by Roman Weissert on “Liebe am Strand” (“Love on the Beach”) will not only hook you, it will yank you out of the water. “Springen Wie Damals” (“Jump as Then”) has a killer drum and bass breakdown in it that will make you stop what you’re doing and listen. The closer, “Gedicht” (“Poem”), would make a fine addition to the soundtrack for a movie about a retiring private eye.

Don’t worry that nearly all the lyrics are in German. You won’t care because the music on this album is so groovy and cool. Euro-lounge music needs to be played everywhere now and then, if you ask me, and Klaus Johan Grobe are fine ambassadors for it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Groove Armada – Vertigo (1999)

[Rewind Reviews are reviews of albums over a year old that I haven’t heard until now.]

Groove Armada’s Vertigo is one of those records that I’ve been meaning to pick up for years but kept forgetting to seek out whenever I was in a wrecka stow or visiting an online music sales site.

It’s a masterpiece of late 1990’s techno, house, and lounge. The opener, “Chicago,” is a perfect anthem for late night clubbing in the Windy City – fat beats, luscious synth grooves, and kinky guitar. “Whatever, Whenever” starts off sounding like something from a grindhouse horror film trailer before rapper M.A.D. slides in with smooth rhymes to save us all from whatever horror was about to pounce on us.

“Dusk, You & Me” is one of the best make-out songs of 1999. If Roddy Lormiar’s trumpet doesn’t get things moved into the naked zone, you only have yourself to blame. I don’t know if the “63” in the title of “Pre 63” refers to the year 1963, but you could put this fly song of heavy bass, playful flute, and crisp beats into any early 1960’s Euro-crime film or sex comedy.

“If Everybody Looked the Same” weaves a great use of a sample from A Tribe Called Quest through a song about bigotry. “Serve Chilled” is perfectly titled, as it’s great for relaxing after late night parties. “I See You Baby” is the opposite, however, and will get the party jumping again as soon as you start it. I mean, the chorus is “I see you, baby, shakin’ that ass.” What more do you need?

“A Private Interlude” has great scratch work from Dominic Betmead. “At the River” is weird, almost sounding backward at some points, and creeps out of the speakers like something from a bad print of a Fellini movie. In other words, I like it. “In My Bones” is a sweet house track about how a good groove gets inside you and can only escape by taking temporary control of you. It has some of the best synth work on the record and probably is one of their best “unknown” hits.

“Your Song” isn’t a cover of the Elton John tune. It’s a funky track with sexy vocals by Sophie Barker. “Inside My Mind (Blue Skies)” is a song you’ve probably heard in dozens of movies, TV shows, and commercials and not realized it. It’s ambient lounge grooves instantly put you in a mellow state of mind. It’s impossible to be depressed during this song. It chills you out like few songs can. The album ends with a saucy remix of “I See You Baby” by Fatboy Slim.

It’s a solid house music record. Pick it up if you’re looking for some good late night grooves for your next party.

Keep your mind open.

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Ceu – Tropix

Brazilian songstress and soon-to-be your new favorite singer Ceu’s new album Tropix is a nice blend of bossa nova, electro, and lounge pop that’s like a breath of fresh air in the nasty political landscapes both here and in Brazil right now.

“Perfume Do Invisivel” is the first single, and it’s a lovely electro song that blends bossa nova beauty with club banging beats during the chorus. I’m sure it’s inspired a hundred remixes in clubs across South America and Europe by now. “Arrastarte-Ei” gets quirky with its beats, but Ceu’s voice remains a constant smooth groove throughout it. “Amor Pixelado” (“Pixelated Love”) is haunting and lovely as Ceu’s voice drifts around you like a heartbroken ghost until the computer beats drop and turn the song into something Thom Yorke probably has on an iPhone playlist.

“Varanda Suspensa” (“Suspended Balcony”) will get your hips moving with its synth horns, and the synths are even more prominent on “Etilica / Interludio” (“Ethyl / Interlude”). It’s a good track, and sounds like something the Pet Shop Boys would’ve created in the early 1990’s.

“A Menina E O Monstro” (“A Girl and a Monster”) starts with a music box and then a synth beat that sounds like a skipping record before it turns into a wonky warbled thing that is as catchy as it is bizarre. “Minhas Bics” has neat, crisp guitar that taps out the beat before the dubstep bass wanders into the room like a fat guy eyeing a buffet.

“Chico Buarque Song” is the first time I’ve heard Ceu sing in English, and it’s a stunning piece. It has a big, bold chorus, spooky synths that border on goth music, and Ceu’s voice at its sexy best. “Sangria” is a lovely ballad that I’m guessing is more about actual blood than the booze.

“Camadas” (“Layers”) is even sexier than “Sangria.” Sade wishes she had a song like this. The drums are exquisite, the bass is smooth, the synths are groovy, and Ceu’s voice is sultry. I’m fairly certain scores of Brazilians are shagging to this song even now. “A Nave Vai” has sharp funky guitar throughout it, and “Rapsodia Brasilis” has the funkiest drums on the record.

It’s a good close to this lovely album of electro-bossa nova, which should be an entire genre if you ask me.

Keep your mind open.

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Mamby on the Beach announces initial lineup for 2016.

Chicago’s Mamby on the Beach music festival is July 02-03rd this year on Oakwood Beach. It’s a lovely festival of electronic dance music, electro, and even a bit of psychedelia. I won’t be surprised if there are more additions before the festival gets here, but I’d love to see Tycho, Santigold, and Derrick Carter for starters.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Caribou

Electro master and multiple music award-winner Caribou will be closing the Levitation Tent at Levitation Austin on May 1st. I’ve been keen on checking him out live since I heard a few snippets of his material and learned his album Our Love was considered among the best of 2014. I think his set will be a great way to close the festival.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Bayonne

Austin’s own Roger Sellers, otherwise known as Bayonne, creates great electro dream pop all by himself. He’s the type of guy who makes me think I could create electro music if I made the time and bought even discounted gear at a pawn shop. He’s inspiring, and I’m sure his set on April 30th at Levitation Austin will be, too.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Nicolas Jaar

Chilean-born and NYC-based composer and electronic music maker Nicolas Jaar will be performing at Levitation Austin on April 29th. Mr. Jaar produces spacey, dreamy electronic music that mixes jazz touches, Euro lounge, and South American flair. I think it will be an interesting set.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Klaus Johann Grobe

Swiss electro / house duo Klaus Johann Grobe create an interesting mix of stuff I can best describe as “electro-lounge.” They sample a lot of Euro sounds and lay down some good dance beats.

Levitation Austin is bringing in a lot of electro, synth, and techno acts this year. There are a few I want to see and these two cats are one of them.

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